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Champion

Basic information

Country
United States
Founded
1919

Overview

Champion is an athletic and sportswear brand founded in 1919 in Rochester, New York, by three members of the Feinbloom family as “Knickerbocker Knitting Mills.” Its product range includes sweatshirts, T-shirts, and team uniforms. In the 1930s, it developed the hooded sweatshirt, commonly known as the hoodie. In 1938, it created REVERSE WEAVE®, which helps reduce shrinkage. Today, it continues to offer a broad range of products, extending into the lifestyle sector while centering on staples rooted in sports.

Concept

to provide every Champion a canvas to live their true purpose

Tagline

WHO INVENTED THE HOODIE?

Sub-brands

  • Champion Rochester 1919

    “Champion Rochester” is a derivative line that foregrounds Champion’s heritage through the Rochester collection, named after the brand’s founding city. Running alongside Champion’s basic range, it offers a “return to origins” approach centered on graphics tied to the founding-city story and archival-style details, reinforcing a heritage pillar alongside Reverse Weave.

    A reissue-oriented heritage line rooted in the brand’s founding city

  • Champion Reverse Weave 1934

    Centered on Reverse Weave® (a construction method that helps reduce shrinkage), Champion Reverse Weave is a line continuously developed within Champion as a “signature” (core franchise). Focused primarily on heavyweight sweatshirts and hoodies, it forms a core range emphasizing durability and serves as a foundation for derivative offerings such as Champion LIFE, while occupying a central role as a technology- and material-based pillar.

    A core heritage line rooted in technology

  • Champion Teamwear 1989

    Champion Teamwear is a business line offering custom uniforms, teamwear, and decoration (marking) services for schools, clubs, and competitive teams. Unlike lifestyle products for the general public, this B2B offering incorporates ordering processes and services designed for team operations, serving demand in competitive sports within the Champion brand.

    A B2B line specializing in team orders

  • C9 by Champion 2004

    “C9 by Champion” was designed as a derivative activewear line of Champion and sold exclusively at Target for about 15 years. After the contract was not renewed, it was no longer available at Target as of January 2020, and subsequently shifted to an exclusive arrangement with Amazon Fashion. Separate from Champion’s mainline, the line served to create broad consumer reach through mass-market retail.

    A derivative line intended to build reach through mass-market retail

  • Champion LIFE 2015

    “Champion LIFE” is a lifestyle-oriented collection line presented as “Champion Life” in exhibition and retail contexts. It is built around reissues of signature pieces from the brand, such as Reverse Weave, and is positioned to place greater emphasis on design and everyday streetwear than the brand’s usual sportswear and basic offerings.

    A lifestyle line with a stronger focus on everyday streetwear